BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (Interstat) — The Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners erupted for five runs in the sixth inning to break open a tight game and even their Big West Conference series with a 9-3 victory over the Cal State Fullerton Titans on Saturday at Hardt Field.

After dropping the series opener 5-3 on Friday, the Roadrunners (6-9, 1-1 Big West) responded by pounding out 12 hits, including three home runs, to overpower the Titans (5-9, 1-1). The offensive outburst defied pregame projections that heavily favored Cal State Fullerton.

The game was a pitchers’ duel through five innings, with Bakersfield holding a narrow 4-3 lead. The Titans had scratched out single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to stay close. In the fourth, Cameron Kim doubled and later scored on an RBI single by Paul Contreras. In the fifth, consecutive singles by Chase Burdick and Alex Kirchner, followed by a walk, set the stage for Noah Miller, whose two-run single to right field knotted the game briefly.

Bakersfield had seized its initial lead with power. Trailing 3-0, Evan Cloyd launched a two-run homer in the third inning to cut the deficit. An inning later, after a triple by Jashia Bennett, center fielder Nick Mascaro connected for a two-run shot to right field, putting the Roadrunners ahead 4-3.

The decisive turning point came in the bottom of the sixth. Facing Titan reliever Dylan Smith, Bennett was hit by a pitch and Mascaro singled. After a groundout brought one run home, catcher Kanoa Morisaki delivered the crushing blow, a two-run homer to right field that extended the lead to 7-3. The Roadrunners were not done, as back-to-back extra-base hits—a triple by Braden Thompson and an RBI double by Salazar—plated another run. A double by Jalen May completed the five-run inning, scoring Salazar to make it 9-3.

From there, the Bakersfield bullpen slammed the door. After starter Shane McAlinden went five innings, allowing three runs on six hits, relievers Payton Pudenz, Jeter Schuerman and Joe O’Regan combined for four scoreless innings. O’Regan was particularly dominant, striking out three over two perfect frames to close the game.

For the Titans, starter Dylan Smith took the loss, charged with six earned runs in five-plus innings. The bullpen provided a bright spot, as Brady Dockan and Nick Santivanez combined for 2 1/3 innings of hitless relief, with Santivanez striking out the side in the eighth.

The most important sequence of the game was the bottom of the sixth inning, where Bakersfield transformed a one-run contest into a comfortable six-run lead. The consecutive home runs by Mascaro and Morisaki off Smith broke the game open, showcasing the power surge that ultimately overwhelmed the Titans’ pitching staff and shifted the series momentum.

The rubber match of the three-game series is scheduled for Sunday at Hardt Field.